Original Team Arrow
by lostinthearrowverse
Summary: Oliver returns home after five years on Lian Yu and forms Team Arrow, however "original team arrow" will include one of the OTA members from the show, Oliver.
1. Chapter 1

"Excuse me" a familiar voice caused Laurel to freeze. "Do you know where I can find a lawyer?" Laurel turned and confirmed that her recently "resurrected" ex-boyfriend Oliver Queen was standing behind her with a goofy smile on his face.

Laurel cocked her head to the side and replied with a snark. "I'm sorry, I don't handle paternity suits".

Oliver chuckled. "Okay, do you handle construction permits because I am opening a nightclub and the paperwork is already burying me".

Laurel stared at the accordion folder that Oliver was holding toward her. A nightclub. Because why wouldn't he? "A nightclub" Laurel remarked. "Couldn't think of a more inspiring line of work?"

"Does this mean that you are not going to help me?" Oliver asked. Laurel closed her eyes knowing if she couldn't see him, she wouldn't help him. Why should she? But unfortunately, she could feel his unwavering, pleading eyes upon her.

"Fine," she said, taking the folder from his hands. "After I finish my job of actually helping people". Oliver nodded at her gratefully, but didn't seem like he wanted to move on, or let her move on with her day. "Anything else?" Laurel asked.

"Yes. A lot actually. I had five years to think about what I would say to you if I ever made it back and I wanted to tell you that-"

"Laurel!" A dark-haired man called from kind of far away. Oliver couldn't get a very good look at him.

"I'll look this over, Oliver, but my break at CNRI is only so long," Laurel said and Oliver nodded.

"Thank you' Oliver said quietly and Laurel headed toward the stranger and to Oliver's surprise, she was pulled into a kiss. After they pulled apart, he offered her his arm and they walked away.

Oliver pulled out his phone and sent a text to Tommy, asking if he knew Laurel had a boyfriend.

That evening, Laurel was at her apartment, and she was working on building a case against Martin Somers when there was a knock at her door. Was her dad supposed to come over tonight? Was it Joanna with something she forgot at the firm? Laurel looked through the peephole on her door and found to her annoyance it was Oliver.

She opened the door for him anyway, but her face made sure he knew her true feelings about the gesture. He quickly pulled a pint of rocky road ice cream out of a grocery bag. "Dinah Laurel Lance, god as my witness, I have not had a lick of ice cream since I have returned to Starling City. I refuse to have one if it is not in your company".

Laurel actually smiled, which she had never planned on doing in front of Oliver again. "You remembered my favorite ice cream" she tried to say in monotone.

"What? You thought five years on an island would make me forget your favorite ice cream?"

Laurel rolled her eyes. "It would make me forget yours" she countered.

"So um, I saw that guy that you kissed you when you walked away today. I didn't realize that you were seeing somebody..." Oliver said.

'… I didn't realize that needed your permission. Given that you made your choice when you took Sara on The Gambit" Laurel said and she sat down on the couch with her bowl of ice cream.

"I'm sorry," Oliver said.

"You said that already" Laurel pointed out.

"It will never be enough" Oliver admitted. "Who is the lucky man... if you don't mind?"

"His name is Barry. He moved to Starling City about a year ago" Laurel revealed and Oliver nodded.

"What does he do?" Oliver asked.

"He's a CSI, he transferred from the CCPD. He is very bright" Laurel said.

"Central City? Walter mentioned an-" Oliver began to say.

"Energy Crisis" Laurel interrupted. "At least that's how I understand what happened". Oliver nodded. "So, uh, Ollie, we didn't really get to discuss your reintegration to Starling City. I know that you are trying to open a nightclub, and not that you don't know the field, but have you talked about it with your mom at all?"

"My mother is being supportive for now. She wants me to do whatever I want as long as I stay safe. She even hired a bodyguard who I forced to stay in the lobby" Oliver said.

"While you were gone, your mom was really starting to groom Thea to become CEO, now that your back though, I thought she would focus back on you" Laurel admitted.

"She will" Oliver replied. "But she knows that I have been through- a lot".

"You know,... the offer I made the other night, about talking about it, it stands," Laurel said.

"Thank you, Laurel," Oliver said.

"Why don't you just tell your mother that you aren't interested? You had no problem telling her before..." Laurel's voice trailed off as she Oliver's tense and he stood up. She stood up as well.

"Ollie, are you okay?" Laurel asked only to have Oliver place his hand on her stomach, signaling her to stay behind him. The two of them then heard to gunshots pierce the front door before they heard someone enter Laurel's apartment. Oliver glanced at Laurel's face briefly and he saw that she was afraid but ready to act. He took his hand off her stomach and grabbed her hand as he saw two women enter from the fire escape. He looked at Laurel. "C'mon" he whispered.

Two large Chinese men, a Chinese woman, and another woman who actually looked American had surrounded the apartment. As soon as one of the intruders would catch sight of the pair, they would attack, Oliver body-blocked Laurel, guarding her from every bullet. Oliver's bodyguard, John Diggle snuck up behind one of the men and shot his back before snapping his neck. "This is why you need a bodyguard, Mr. Queen" he shouted. Oliver rushed Laurel towards the kitchen, but they were stopped face to face with the Chinese woman. The other Chinese man lined up a back-of-the-head shot at Laurel but Oliver grabbed a knife out the women's hand, elbowed her in the face, and threw the knife at the man, hitting his right shoulder.

The Chinese women pulled out two long blades and tried to sneak around Oliver, but it didn't work and Oliver uppercut her chin. He had let go of Laurel's hand and he saw out the corner of his eye that the American woman was twisting Laurel's wrist. Oliver performed a roundhouse to that woman's knee. Diggle was going head to head with The Chinese man when police siren was heard getting close to the apartment building.

The Chinese man shoved Diggle out of his way and the two women had already made their way to the fire escape. Once the man had joined them, they disappeared into the night. One last bullet shattered the glass of Laurel's window, but Oliver pushed Laurel to the ground and was on top of her, but only briefly. He helped her up. "Are you okay?" asked Oliver with Laurel's head between his hands.

"Yeah" she breathed. Oliver kissed her forehead and didn't let go of her. He couldn't even if he wanted to.

The police were investigating and Barry was taking photos of the body. "Baby!" Quentin said, hugging Laurel for the fourth time. "Are you sure you're not hurt at all?"

"I'm not. Ollie... Ollie was surprisingly helpful" Laurel said still calming down.

Quentin glanced at Oliver. "Thanks," he said in a low tone and Oliver just replied with a nod and he walked over to Diggle.

"You just Laurel's life," Diggle said. "You'd think he would at least shake your hand".

"It's complicated," Oliver said he walked out of the now doorless apartment and Diggle followed him. Oliver was climbing into the limo that Diggle would be driving him home in when Laurel burst out the doors of the apartment building. "Ollie" she shouted. Oliver walked to meet her in the middle and she threw her arms around him. He hugged her back.

"Shouldn't you be with Barry?" Oliver asked. ]

"The night's not over. Barry is still upstairs, but I- I need to know how you did that- how you acted so quickly and skillfully?" Laurel asked.

"Laurel, I- Oliver began to say.

"Oliver, don't lie to me. I'll know if you are lying to me" Laurel warned.

Oliver didn't say anything for a moment, but then he replied, "Laurel, I spent five years on an island. Put the pieces together" Oliver climbed into the car and left Laurel standing alone as Diggle pulled away. He was silent on his way home. He so badly wanted to tell her the truth, he so badly wanted to tell her everything. He was the hood. He was sorry. He was still madly in love with her.

Laurel was having breakfast with Barry the following morning. Barry couldn't help but notice that his girlfriend was miles away that morning. "So Oliver- Oliver left in a hurry," he said as he swallowed a mouth full of Pancakes.

"Uh-huh" Laurel said.

"Babe, what happened last night? Why was Oliver in your apartment?" Barry asked.

"He is just a friend, Barry" Laurel insisted.

"No, I know. But why? Why is he your friend? I know what he did to you, Laurel? How do you not see that betrayal every time you look at him?" Barry asked.

"I do, Barry. But it's like you and Iris, I've known him all of my life. We've been best friends since we were six years old and... I don't know, what he went through on that island, it was far worse than he deserved" Laurel said, feeling badly about what she said to him on her lunch break the day he came to see her at work.

"You- you are not going to allow him back into your life. Laurel, he is going to hurt you again" Barry urged.

"You just don't know Ollie, not like I do," Laurel said and the look on Barry's face angered her. "You look just like my father did. He got so mad when I chased Oliver outside. He doesn't want me anywhere near Oliver. Barry? Are you listening?" Laurel asked, sensing something else had Barry's attention.

"I'm sorry, I-" Barry said.

"I get it," Laurel said and she pulled out her wallet and slapped down some money on the table. "This should cover tip" Laurel walked away.

Barry looked at his hand under the table. It was vibrating so fast, it could hurt someone. Maybe it was time to call Harrison Wells.


	2. Chapter 2

The morning after a traumatizing attack on the Unidac Industries auction,

Laurel was watching the news while having breakfast in her apartment. There was a loud knock on her apartment door. She looked through the peephole and then she let Barry in.

"Hey", she said.

"Baby, I'm sorry, I couldn't make it here sooner. I received an important phone call and I had to go out of town" Barry explained and Laurel pressed her lips against his. Coming out of the kiss, she saw the bewildered look on his face.

"It's okay, Barry. I'm just happy you're here now. And listen about the other day, with Oliver, I'm-" Laurel began to say but Barry cut her off.

"Oliver is part of the reason I am here," Barry said.

"Why?" Laurel asked, nervously. She shouldn't care, but if Oliver was hurt in the at the auction last night, there would be nothing Laurel could do to keep herself from crying. "Is he okay?" she added quietly.

"Yeah, but he is being arrested on suspicion of being The Hood" Barry put bluntly.

"No, no, Ollie isn't The Hood" Laurel reacted immediately. "My father, my father just managed to rally the rest of the force around such a dumb accusation. He never liked Oliver when I was dating him, and he wishes that Oliver had been killed, not Sara..." Laurel's voice trailed off.

"I haven't been into work yet, but there is video evidence apparently. You can come to the station if you want to, I'm not sure what your dad will be willing to show you..." Barry said as his girlfriend was already pushing past him.

He closed the door to her apartment, not neglecting to lock it.

"I demand to see Laurel," Oliver said while sitting with his hands shackled at the interrogation table. Quentin and Lucas Hilton were his company.

"You will never see Laurel again. Especially now that I know you're a killer," Quentin said. Oliver didn't reply. "I assume you're admitting guilt" Quentin jeered.

"I don't have to talk without a lawyer present. The only lawyer I'll allow to represent me is Laurel" Oliver barked.

"Good luck with that. It's a conflict of interest given that you used to date her and you killed her sister" Quentin grumbled. He left Hilton with Oliver and walked out into the precinct where he came face to face with Laurel.

"You aren't here to defend Queen," asked Quentin, immediately accusatory.

"I am here because I still care about Ollie, and I also know that he is not a vigilante. Dad, this is Oliver Queen. He cheated on me. He stole his friend's girlfriends and slept with people's finances. He comes back from a deserted island with a second chance at life to immediately get back on the party scene. I know you want Ollie to be The Hood, so you have a reason to put him away, but he's not" Laurel tried to explain to her father calmly. "I want to see him".

"No" Quentin replied.

"I would really let her talk to him," Barry said quietly from behind Laurel.

"You're kind, Mr. Allen, never been in trouble with the law. You deserve my daughter. Don't make me think otherwise" Quentin remarked.

Laurel and Barry had a quiet dinner that night in Laurel's apartment. Laurel had finished most of her plate and two glasses of wine. "Barry, I'm gonna watch something on TV, okay?"

"Yeah, of course, that's okay," Barry said, giving his girlfriend a little smile.

Laurel got up to walk towards her couch, but the street below caught her eye. There were three figures, two of them were clearly men and the other one covered from head to toe in rags. "Babe, you have your camera with you?" Laurel called out.

Barry walked over behind Laurel. "Yeah, I always..." his voice trailed off. He raised his camera and turned the flash off before hesnapped 4 or 5 quick photos of the men and the mysterious figure.

"That is so weird, I'm gonna stay here until they're all gone. I'm also going to show these photos to the captain" Barry said.

"Mr. Queen, it is my understanding that you chose to turn down a court-appointed attorney and favored to act as your own defense," the judge said stonily.

"Yes," Oliver said, smiling in an attempt to lean on his charm to get him off. "I've had court-appointed defense before and I think passing on it will give me better luck".

After a long pause, the judge said: "Okay. Prosecution, you have the floor".

"Oliver Queen. A boy of the Starling City elite. Ship-wreck survivor and recently "resurrected". Why on earth would Mr. Queen dress up in a hood and put arrows in the hearts of men and woman who probably have been to his family's home on Christmas and drank the eggnog made by the kitchen staff? Why? Well, I am prepared to present multiple examples to you lof all the times before this killing spree that The Queen's boy has publicly committed acts of violence and knowingly engaged in dangerous behavior. Mr. Queen as a child was never told "no". He was never reprimanded for hurting others. Mr. Queen probably was under the impression that what he does as The Hood is okay. What isn't okay when your family has the kind of doe that the Queen's do? Mr. Queen may not be evil or have evil intent, but either way, he is a murderer, so I say the motive does not truly matter when we have video evidence".

"Thank you," The judge said. "Now, Mr. Queen. It is your turn"

"Yes, of course," Oliver said. He took thea long sip of water and was about to stand up when courtroom doors opened. "Your honor, Dinah Laurel Lance, attorney, CNRI. I apologize for not making it here sooner. I will be representing Mr. Queen today".

Before the judge could say anything, Oliver leaned forward and spoke into his microphone. "Oh yeah, I hired my own attorney, I must have forgotten," he said sarcastically.

"Ms. Lance, you have the floor" the judge sighed.

For Oliver's trial, the judge decided all.

"Your honor, after reviewing the police report on the incident that got Mr. Queen arrested, I don't have to be on the force to see that there is not enough evidence for his arrest in the first place. We live in a day and an age where editing video is easy enough for a teenager and takes less time cooking for your family. Coincidentally, The Hood first appearance in Starling City was not was the night we welcomed Oliver Queen back from "the dead", but I believe that whoever The Hood really is was counting something of this nature to happen. Also, it is pretty clear that The Hood is no friend of the city's elite, meaning he or she is no friend of The Queen family, let alone a member of the Queen family".

The judge couldn't argue that some of Laurel's points presented reasonable doubt. "Would your client be willing to take a polygraph test?"

Laurel glanced at Oliver. There was no way Oliver The Hood... there was no way the lover she knew was actually doing something to help others, that wouldn't help him in any way. That wasn't Oliver. That was just who she wanted him to be...

"Yes, Ol- Mr. Queen will be willing to take a polygraph".

"Mr. Queen will be free to go, for now. Mr. Queen, until the date of the polygraph test, if you wish to prove that you are innocent, then you shouldn't have a problem wearing an ankle bracelet that gives your location to the SCPD" the judge ruled.

"A tracker" Oliver said into his microphone. "That is fine with me".

"Alright, then my ruling is final. No further action should be taken until Mr. Queen either passes or fails his polygraph test" The judge said, banging her gavel. Quentin glared hotly into his daughter's eyes.

After having the tracker attached to his ankle and getting a date for his polygraph, Oliver walked up to Laurel. She turned around when she sensed his presence. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes were brimming with tears of anger. "What?" she questioned.

"I was just going to ask you for a ride," Oliver said, softly. He put his hand on Laurel's cheek. "The bar is almost completely set up at the club and I think that the both of us could use a drink... and a friend".

Oliver was behind the bar, back to Laurel, watching the coffee-maker slowly fill the mug he placed beneath it. "So, I know your dad wasn't thrilled that you left with me," Oliver said.

"If you want to be my friend, you won't talk about that right now," Laurel said and Oliver placed Laurel's mug in front of her. "Why didn't um, is his name- Diggle drive you home?" Laurel asked before taking the first sip. "This coffee is terrible, Ollie".

Oliver gave her a small smile. "Diggle quit".

"What? Quit? Quit being your bodyguard?" Laurel joked.

"Speaking of, thank you" Oliver responded quickly.

"For what?" Laurel asked.

"Saving my ass in court today," Oliver said and Laurel smiled.

"How could I resist? You saved my life from those assassins who tried to kill me in my own home" Laurel was shaking a little bit just from the memory and Oliver touched her hand to comfort her.

"Laurel, I want to show you something" Oliver said.


	3. Chapter 3

Laurel made a large circle around the lair. Oliver's suit, his arrows, his weapons and a- torture device. Oliver noticed and laughed at the expression on her face as she stared at the salmon ladder.

He pulled his shirt over his head and walked closer to Laurel. "Can you do a pull-up?" Oliver asked her.

"Yes" Laurel breathed and then a little louder, "I can do like 30. So this is not a torture device".

"No" Oliver chuckled. "I mean it can be torturous if I'm not in the mood" Laurel nodded her head gently. Oliver grasped the salmon ladder bar and demonstrated for her and Laurel bit her bottom lip as she watched her ex. Oliver had always been physically fit but it had been a long time since seem him without his shirt and damn.

And along with the muscles he came home with, he came home with scars. They looked deep. Oliver landed on his feet and Laurel walked towards him immediately raising her fingers to run them over each scar. She moved cautiously, expecting Ollie to move away. He didn't but instead, he closed his eyes at the feeling of Laurel's fingertips lightly touching him.

"Ollie, these scars. Who did this to you?" Laurel gasped and Oliver opened his eyes to look into hers, holding in the tears that were threatening to fill them.

"Laurel, things happened to me on the island. I wasn't alone" Oliver confessed letting a single tear fall, that Laurel quickly wiped away with her finger. She pulled Oliver into a loving hug.

"Ollie" she whispered into the side of his head. "H-how did you survive it?"

"I remembered you were there with me, that picture. I would stare at the picture, and it reminded me no matter how badly I wanted to die, there was something I wanted more" Oliver said.

Laurel didn't say anything before taking a few steps back. She waited for several seconds before she said: "So, you're The Hood. I helped you get the permit for the nightclub and a- this place so does that mean The Hood might feel in the spirit of returning the favor".

"Wait," Oliver said, "You know I am The Hood, and I'm getting the sense you don't have the intention of turning me in, you're okay with what The Hood has done?"

"Well do I love that you've killed people... it's not my favorite thing about you but Ollie, now that I even have a vague idea of what you went through, I believe that you believe it is necessary. I believe in the justice system, but I know it is far from perfect. Neither is The Hood, but you're trying. You turned out to be exactly who I thought you were" Laurel said.

Oliver grinned. "Dinah Laurel Lance, always trying to save the world".

"At least I know that somebody else in this city is helping," Laurel said, warmly. "Oliver, I think we should do it together".

Oliver sucked in his breath. "You wanted a favor?" he asked and Laurel frowned at his change in demeanor.

"Barry and I had dinner the other night and there was suspicious activity out on the street. Barry got pictures and I want you to see them" Laurel reported.

"Does your dad know?" Oliver asked.

"Barry left the photos to be analyzed at the SCPD but I don't know what my dad knows," Laurel said.

"So Barry, where is he?" Oliver asked, with jealousy that he didn't realize was obvious.

"Out of town, again. I think, visiting his dad?" Laurel said.

"In Central City?" Oliver asked.

"Iron Heights, Central City" Laurel clarified.

"His dad is-" Oliver began to ask.

"Barry's father is believed to have killed his mother when he was only 11. Barry remembers a different version of that night" Laurel said, shaking her head.

"You don't believe him" Oliver concluded.

"Ollie, if you heard the story he told me, you wouldn't believe it either"

"Laurel, if I told you a lot of my true stories, you wouldn't believe me," Oliver said. "Anyway, Laurel, would Barry be willing to show me the images?".

"Barry isn't your biggest fan" Laurel replied.

"If he truly cares about you, he shouldn't be," Oliver said.

"But you know, Barry is a fan of The Hood" Laurel brought up.

"Speaking of The Hood, you knowing the truth complicates my defense, doesn't it?"

"Of course it doesn't" Laurel said shaking her head. "I'm your defense lawyer and you're paying me to defend you. The only complicated thing is you passing the lie detector test".

"I'll pass. Having secrets and lying kept me alive for five years" Oliver pointed out.

"So I keep you out of jail, you obtain what you need from Barry" Laurel concluded.

Oliver smiled. "We are really going to make a good team".

"We always have" Laurel encouraged.

Oliver stayed in the bunker for several hours with the idea of working together with Laurel on his mind. He owed her a lot and that was an understatement. He had already taken the first step by choosing not to lie to her again. He picked up his phone and wrote her a text.

"I meant what I said. We are going to make a really good team. The night I saved you from those assassins was the most scared I have ever felt because I love you. I told somebody, a friend, that the second I got home from Lian Yu, you would know how much. A text isn't how I hoped to tell you and I don't want you to break up with Barry... but I want you to be safe. You think we should save the world together. I'm in".

In Laurel's current dream, she was ducking under the knife swipes of an attacker in her own home. The American-looking woman. She stabbed Laurel's shoulder. "Leave me alone!" Laurel shouted.

"Die" the woman hissed. Laurel ducked and ran under the woman's arm. She pushed her from behind.

"Oliver isn't here now. He can't save you. He can't save anybody" The woman laughed as she turned around and pressed the blade onto Laurel's neck.

"I don't need anyone to save me" Laurel screamed. She screamed again but this time the woman went flying and crashing down through Laurel's window. She has been knocked away by sonic energy waves from Laurel's mouth. Laurel ran to the broken window. Down below where the street should have been was a rapid ocean. Debris floated in it but there was no sign of the woman. Laurel touched her throat.

Laurel sat up, now awake and immediately reached for her phone. She read Oliver's text and then she hit his number on speed dial. "Hello," Oliver said, sleepily. He hadn't been asleep. He was still the bunker, making plans for the Hood's visit to Barry Allen.

"Come over," said Laurel, in a whisper.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

After a pause, "yeah" Laurel said.

Barry hung up the phone after a long conversation with Joe. He was back in Starling City. Harrison Wells had strongly encouraged Barry to stay in Central City but Barry refused. He had stayed with Joe in Central City while he got familiar with his powers though.

Barry sank into his couch and closed his eye for a few minutes. He reached his arm over to grab the remote control but his hand hit something. Lightning surged through his eyes and Barry darted up ready to speed attack, the lightning taking full control. He was face to face with The Hood.

The Hood pushed Barry back onto his couch. "I'm not going to hurt you" he explained, trying to shake off his surprise at Barry's powers. Barry nodded.

"Are you here because I am a CSI?" Barry guessed.

"Yes," The Hood answered."I was informed that you got some mysterious images on your camera, a figure wearing rags... I have been looking into him and I want to see those photos".

Much to Oliver's surprise, Barry agreed immediately. He went to retrieve his camera. "These were taken from the window in my girlfriend's apartment. Do you know who he is?"

"No" Oliver answered.

"Well, I hope this helps you," Barry said.

Oliver almost asked Barry why he wasn't calling his superiors to put The Hood away once and for all. But he didn't.


	4. Chapter 4

Laurel answered the door to her apartment while still in pajamas. She slammed the door shut when she only saw a blur standing there. She grabbed her phone, not sure if she should call Oliver or her father. "Laurel" She heard from the other side of the door. "It's me" Laurel opened the door back up and she saw Barry. "Sorry, in retrospect, that is not the best way to reveal that you have powers to somebody. I'm hungry, and Harrison Wells said I have to consume 4,250,000 calories every day. Are you hungry?". Laurel sort of laughed while shaking her head. "Oh, also- sorry, my thoughts are going a mile a minute- I have something else to tell you- The Hood, visited me".

"Really?" Laurel said, walking toward her kitchen, secretly wondering how the tracker on Oliver's ankle didn't attract police attention.

"Yeah. And he wanted to see the photos of the "ragman" Barry said.

"Start with this" Laurel said, pushing a bowl of fruit salad towards her boyfriend. "What? It has calories. So, anyway, does anyone else know that you're... fast".

"The Hood" Barry shared. "And doctor Harrison Wells, and Cisco Ramon... You aren't going to tell anybody else, right?"

"No, I guess not, but you're really not going to use your speed?" Laurel asked, thinking having a superpower would be something that her boyfriend couldn't resist using.

"To be honest, I don't know. I'm not the hood. I'm not a hero" Barry said and Laurel leaned over and kissed Barry's cheek.

"Barry, you are a hero for a lot of people. You bring justice inside the law and I am starting to realize that it is sometimes necessary to bend the law to make sure justice prevails. I am not pressuring you to "be a hero", but for a lot of families, you are already," Laurel said.

Oliver was interrogating a thug that he believed knew something about The Triad."Martin Somers is incarcerated" The Hood growled. "What is The Triad doing here?"

"You're just picking on me because I have a criminal record, I don't know anything about The Triad. Leave me alone" the man cried. Oliver nocked arrow into his bow and released it on a path to the thug's forearm, but seemingly out of nowhere, a rag wrapped around the arrow in midair.

"Hey" shouted The Hood as he turned around. A rag grabbed him around the neck and he was lifted off of the ground.

"I've been looking for you," said the figure whose identity was completely protected by those rags. The man that Oliver had been dealing with had run off.

"Well, then I will admit I'm impressed. I would've liked to think I wasn't so easy to find" Oliver choked. "Loosen up".

"Why would I do that? I'm not here to talk. I am here to kill you" The man in rags replied.

"So when I was interrogating that low life, I should have been looking for you. You're an assassin for The Triad".

"The Chinese mafia? I'll take that as a compliment" The man said.

"Nevermind" Oliver shot back as freed him and landed in a squat on the ground. He performed a low spin kick. "The Triad doesn't work with any old amateur".

The "ragman" used his rags to fight Oliver, but Oliver had the upper hand with his blows, eventually seeing an opening to tackle his opponent. He applied pressure to the man's mask until he passed out.

When the man came to, he was in a cage, staring at the faces of Oliver Queen and Laurel Lance. He noticed they had unmasked him. Laurel whispered something to Oliver. "Rory Reagan," Oliver said.

"Where am I?" Rory hissed. "Are you two working with the hood?"

"No. I am The Hood" Oliver boldly stated, "and if I find out that you shared that information with anybody, you go down for being a vigilante as well".

"Fine" Rory replied. "I don't want to expose you, I just want you dead".

"Why?" Laurel asked.

"Because he's a criminal," Rory said.

"So are you" Laurel shot back, somewhat angrily.

"Why do you want to kill me?" Oliver asked. Rory didn't answer the question.

"He-" Laurel began to say but Rory cut her off.

"What is he gonna do? Shoot me?" Rory said, aggressively.

Oliver whispered something to Laurel and the two of them exited.

Oliver poured some Russian vodka into two glasses and handed one to Laurel. "He is angry, but he is not going to want to stay in a cage forever. He will tell us why he is doing this"

Laurel nodded. "In the meantime, let's prepare for tomorrow".

"Ah yes. The lie detector test" Oliver said.

Barry woke up feeling intense hunger. Damn meta-metabolism. We went over to his fridge and decided to have his leftovers from The Cheesecake Factory. Just then his cellphone lit up and it was the cops. "Hello," he asked groggily.

"Sorry we're calling so late, Allen," the chief of police said.

"No problem sir," Barry said.

"I just wanted to verify with you. We were looking at Mr. Queen's whereabouts and found that he stopped by your apartment for a short time last night". Barry was silent for a moment.

"He is a friend of my girlfriend. We were all hanging out together" Barry fibbed, now in full protective mode. 

"Do you know where Mr. Queen went afterward? Did he mention?" The chief asked.

"No, he didn't" Barry answered. "We don't know each other that well".

"Thank you, Allen. Have a good night" The Chief said.

"Thank you, sir. Same to you" Barry said.. He texted Laurel. "Dinner tomorrow? I would like it if you could bring Oliver".

Laurel walked into the SCPD early the next morning. She answered Barry's text and then lifted her head and headed into the interrogation room where Oliver was already being hooked up to the polygraph machine. "Morning" he greeted casually. "You look more nervous than I do".

"Yeah, you do," Quentin remarked.

"This is just my face" Laurel answered. She took a seat and pulled her materials from her briefcase and then discreetly traded a glance with Oliver. Quentin turned on the machine.

"Mr. Queen, how are you feeling?" Quentin asked in a monotone.

"Fine, how about yourself?" Oliver asked.

"Focused" Quentin replied. "My first question is, you were stranded on an island called Lian Yu for five years, correct?"

"Yes," Oliver replied.

"Were you alone on Lian Yu?" Quentin asked.

"No," Oliver said.

"Do you know how to to use a bow and arrow?"

"Yes," Oliver replied.

"Have you ever been to Iron Heights prison?" Quentin asked.

"No," Oliver said. Laurel knew Oliver was lying. He had been there not that long ago to save Peter Declan from death row. He had been there for an eighth-grade field trip.

"Mr. Queen, did a man wearing a green hood single-handedly take out three armed men to save you and Tommy Merlyn?" Quentin asked.

"Yes," Oliver said.

"Was the man you?" Quentin asked.

"No," Oliver said.

"Mr. Queen, are you The Hood?" Quentin asked.

"No" Oliver replied.

"Final question, Mr. Queen, have you ever killed anybody?" Oliver didn't answer right away, as if he didn't hear the question. "Mr.-"

Oliver interrupted Quentin. "Yes," he said. "when I invited Sara on the Queen's gambit. I killed somebody. I killed your daughter".

Quentin didn't reply. The only sound in the room came tension-filled moments later when Quentin hit the off switch on the machine.

That night, Laurel showed up at Barry's apartment by herself. He greeted her by kissing her. "Hey babe, you're alone".

"Yep, I'm sorry Oliver couldn't make it" Laurel explained.

"Don't be sorry, Laurel?" Barry said, implying that he loved being alone with her.

Their lip connected again and again. Barry went in for another kiss but he didn't make it to her lips before she interrupted the heat. "I'm hungry," she said.

Barry smiled. "I made my first attempt at Grandma Ester's Chicken Cordon Bleu Skillet".

Laurel smiled. "Something tells me if Grandma Ester was still around, one meal would have you set for the day".

Rory was manipulating the rags he still had on, trying to figure out if they could aid his escape. He was still learning how to use them, he hadn't learned everything there was to know about them before losing his father.

"Hungry?"" a female voice said and he assumed it was Laurel Lance.

"Yeah, but I'm not telling you anything" Rory shot back.

"Really? Well, what if I said that I could help you with two problems?"


	5. Chapter 5

Oliver should've been at home. He should've been with Thea right now, and he would be. As soon as he got home, he was going to talk his mother and Walter into throwing a Christmas party. Thea mentioned that the Queen's stopped celebrating Christmas without Oliver and Robert. Oliver had watched Thea grow up loving the holiday and even it sounded selfish, he could use that normalcy in his life.

"Freeze, Queen" Oliver heard and he heard a gun being raised.

"I am not who you think I am. I am not the Queen's kid" Oliver said, disguising his voice from Officer Lance.

"Turn around" Quentin demanded and Oliver obliged.

"Officer Lance, is it?" he said.

"I'll be asking the questions" Quentin barked. "I've got you now, Queen, and I have a question. Did you- did you even try to save her? Sara?"

"I am sorry about your daughter, Officer Lance. I am not Oliver Queen" Oliver grunted and turned away. Suddenly, two bullets pierced Oliver's back and he fell face-first onto the street.

"So is their an easier way to say your name?" Rory asked the woman who had let him out of his cage and given him food.

"Yes," she said. "My American friends call me White Canary," the woman said.

Rory nodded. "Aren't you from around here?"

"Yes, I mean, the girl I used to be, she was," White Canary said.

"So, how did the girl you used to be end up working for the Triad?" Rory asked.

"It is better that you don't know," White Canary said. "What is necessary is that you know that we both want to kill The Hood".

"Yeah... why do you want The Hood?" Rory asked.

"I want what The Triad wants" White Canary stated.

"Well, I want-" Rory was cut off as White Canary jabbed his throat.

"I don't care why you want to kill him, but I trust in your ability- well your costume's ability to get the job done," White Canary said.

"I don't know if my values align with The Triad's" Rory warned.

White Canary lips almost formed a smile underneath the white bandana that covered the lower half of her face. "I've already recruited you, Ragman, so your values do align. If they don't, well the dead don't have any values".

Oliver opened his eyes and he was in Starling General hospital. He was wearing a white t-shirt and hospital sleep-pants. Laurel, Quentin, Moira, Walter, and Thea were there.

Oliver was a little panicked. Did they all know? Did the surgeons? Moira smiled at him. "Welcome back, my brave boy".

"Hi, mom," he said.

He noticed that Laurel was standing as far away from her father as possible. She definitely knew he was responsible. "Are you feeling alright, Oliver?" Walter questioned.

"Yeah, obviously I'm in the best shape I've ever been" Oliver replied sarcastically. He was still getting used to the fact that his mother had actually remarried Walter, of all people.

Walter nodded. "I apologize, I- I overstepped". Walter then turned and left the room and Moira looked at Oliver with mixed emotions and left the room.

Thea gave Oliver a look. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Speedy"

"Speedy- uh, can my dad and I have a moment with Ollie?" Laurel asked.

"Gladly," Thea said and quickly strode out.

"Oliver, my father would like to apologize for shooting you in the back," Laurel said.

"Yeah, Queen, sorry" Quentin grumbled. "But you're still under arrest".

"No, you aren't," Laurel said. "You passed your polygraph, Ollie"

"But I'm The Hood," Oliver said and Quentin rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, unfortunately, Laurel is right. I can't arrest you, not yet. I need new evidence an, unfortunately, the only witness to your confession is my daughter, who will lie under oath, despite everything she believes in because of you" Quentin said.

"Well, here's another confession, Laurel, Quentin, Sara made it to the island," Oliver said.

"What?" Laurel cried.

"She made it to a freighter near the island and we reunited about a year after the Gambit went down," Oliver told them.

"So my baby is alive," Quentin asked.

"No," Oliver said. "Sara died several months later on that same freighter. She drowned".The hospital room was now as silent as the interrogation room had been when Oliver brought up Sara. "I just thought that you two should know".

Quentin stood there, practically shaking with anger. Then he turned and left before he did something that would make his older daughter hate him forever.

Laurel sat down on the edge of Oliver's hospital bed. "You aren't mad at me?" he asked.

Laurel shook her head, sighing. "Did you drown Sara?" she asked.

Oliver shook his head.

"Okay then," Laurel said. A moment of silence went between them before Laurel said: "Oliver, when you're ready, we should talk about, me...starting some real training".

Oliver gave Laurel a small smile. "Laurel, I want you on my team, but the training is going to be... a lot. You are capable of it but... a lot. So, if I am going to commit to training you, I need your 100%. That means scaling back your hours at CNRI, I know you work late nights".

Laurel nodded. "Yeah, I actually came here from work. Okay, that shouldn't be a problem"

"Good," Oliver said. "Now, uh-"

"You want to know who knows you're The Hood, just me, my dad, and your family, Walter included" Laurel said.

"Okay, that's actually good news. None of them seem to see me differently now" Oliver noted.

"They just care about you healing, Oliver" Laurel comforted. She leaned over and gave him a kiss on his forehead. "How about I stay and we'll watch some TV?"

"Yeah, stay" Oliver said.

Rory found and reclaimed his mask. He put it on, completing the rag man persona while White Canary with her arms crossed and her eyes glued to the mannequin that was currently lacking The Hood's suit.

"So, does it matter if The Hood dies, or can we kill him when he is just in his street clothes" Rory asked.

"Both The Hood and Oliver Queen are enemies of The Triad" White Canary stated, dully.

"You know The Hood is Oliver Queen?" Rory asked.

"I am one of The Triads expert assassins. I have to know" White Canary replied.

"So,... white canary... are you uh... game to get out of here?" Rory asked, anxiously. "Cause we're not killing The Hood tonight".

"No, we aren't you're right about that. But..." White Canary's voice trailed off.

"What is it?" Rory asked

"Nothing" said White Canary. White Canary headed for the exit.

"Hey" Rory called after. He stood by himself for a moment, trying to figure out whether he should go Hood hunting, or skip town now that he had The Triads attention. He heard footsteps and decided to hide. It was easy, he looked like a pile of rags on the floor.

It wasn't Oliver or Laurel who was in the lair, it was Laurel's father. He was on it too?


	6. Chapter 6

Quentin was struggling to get the display case where he was trying to return The Hood's suit open. He tried on his own and sighed "C'mon, get up! You see someone struggling and you lay there uselessly, you're just as indecent as The Hood himself".

Rory slowly got up. "I am impressed".

"Shouldn't be. I am a detective"

"Yeah, I know you're Laurel Lance's dad. You know she is working with The Hood" Rory said.

"Well, I hope that is all she is doing with him" Quentin grumbled.

"If The Hood is a probl-" Rory began to say but Quentin cut him off.

"You're not killing The Hood," Quentin said.

"Actually, I was going to ask why you were working with him too?" Rory questioned.

"I'm not working with The Hood. What just because I am returning The Hood's suit, you think I support him taking the law into his own maniacal hands?" Quentin asked.

"Then why can't I kill him?"

"Two reasons, one is because I would have to arrest you, and because I care about him" Quentin boomed, surprising himself.

'Didn't Oliver Queen kill your youn-" Rory started to ask but Quentin cut him off.

"He didn't. He didn't drown her. The gambit... Oliver... Sara. It was an accident. Now, are you going to help me?" Quentin asked. Rory manipulated his rags and used them to open the display case.

Oliver woke and smiled. Laurel had crumpled her body into a chair in the hospital room. "Laurel" he called out, loud enough to startle her. She nearly fell out of her chair.

"Hey," Laurel said coming to sit on the edge of Oliver's cot.

"You're still here," Oliver said.

"You're here. Where else would I be?" Laurel said.

Oliver almost asked about Barry, but he didn't. Thinking about Laurel with Barry caused him worse pain. He was only happy that she was happy. If she were to become unhappy, well Barry was a speedster, and Oliver assumed that he could heal as fast as he could run.

Oliver healed up just in time for The Queen's Christmas Party. He walked down the stairs and saw only a few guests who had arrived early. Malcolm, Laurel, Quentin and shockingly to Oliver, Rory Regan.

Oliver would get around to talking to all of them but first, he approached Walter, Moira, and Thea. "I still can't believe we are doing this" Thea admitted.

"I'm glad we are. It feels like I'm finally home" Oliver said.

"Does it?" Thea asked. Her eyes veered off to the side to look at Laurel.

Oliver frowned. "Thea..." he said.

Malcolm walked over to join the family. "Merry Christmas".

"Malcolm. Merry Christmas. Where is Tommy tonight?" Moira asked.

"He'll be here I'm sure, he is probably off doing something idiotic" Malcolm replied. Walter and Moira got so deep in conversation with their old friend that they didn't notice Oliver walk off in Laurel's direction and Thea followed.

"Hey," Oliver said, "you look beautiful".

"Beautiful? Well, it's good to know that your vocabulary has expanded from "hot" and "mega-hot"" Laurel teased.

"Um-hmm. Yes, it has" Oliver said. "I am surprised you're here alone tonight"

"Barry is in Central City," Laurel said. "But you know, my dad is here"

Oliver lowered his voice to a whisper "And he brought a friend"

"Oh yeah, Rory," Laurel said.

Oliver's forehead creased. "You do remember the last place we saw Rory?"

"Yeah," Laurel said."It's a long story. I'll tell you later, sneak up to your room in a little while".

Thea tapped Oliver on his shoulder. He looked toward her and then back, Laurel had walked away. "Hey, Speedy. Are you alright?"

"I don't think so, we need to talk," Thea said. She walked towards one of the back exits of the mansion and Oliver followed.

They were outside and more guests were arriving so their absence went unnoticed. Oliver and Thea stood next to one another in complete silence for a moment and then Thea said. "So we know you were shot by police when you were out as the other guy".

Oliver didn't bother denying it. "How long have you known?"

"I had my suspicions when you gave me that- uh- hozen... thing, but honestly I wasn't sure until that night in the hospital because Laurel and Quentin exposed you" Thea admitted.

"So I guess it's a good sign that you haven't turned me in and I am not surprised mom hasn't," Oliver said.

"Yeah, and she threatened Laurel and Quentin until it looked like they might pee themselves," Thea said with a little laugh. "But for real, Mom believes in you, and I think you're doing good too".

"That is a relief," Oliver said. "Because you are a part of the reason I am doing it".

"And knowing that makes me want to be a part of it," Thea said.

Oliver didn't say anything at first, wanting to select his next words very carefully. "Laurel told me you agreed to train her, you could train me too. I need to know how to defend myself anyway. While you were gone, I got myself involved in a dangerous lifestyle and since you came home I have been trying to leave it behind, but that is gonna piss some lowlifes off" Thea said.

"And I will protect you," Oliver said.

"Well the last 5 years showed me you won't always be around to protect me," Thea said and she walked back inside.

"Oh, Thea-" Moira began to say but didn't have the chance to talk to her daughter as she walked right by her. Thea grabbed a coat and headed out the front door of the mansion.

Oliver walked back in too. He was searching through the crowd for Thea, but he didn't see her. A hand grabbed Oliver's inner elbow and he spun, ready to attack. He saw it was Rory. "Can we talk?" Rory asked.

Oliver exhaled. "Yeah"

"Somewhere else?" Rory asked. "Trust me, I wouldn't try to attack you without my rags".

Rory followed Oliver upstair and they stood by the railing side by side. "So, what do you have to say?" Oliver asked.

"Ragman is done trying to kill The Hood," Rory said.

"Mind filling me in on why Ragman had it out for The Hood in the first place?" Oliver asked.

"Those rags I wear were given to me by my father. They were a gift I received while he was dying from cancer. I'd been training with them my entire life, but now I've inherited them. My father died hours before I saw The Hood on the news in Havenrock. I came here to use my inheritance to end his evil" Rory explained.

"I'm not evil, Rory. I want to make this city safer" Oliver said.

"I know, when I wanted to kill you, I was emotional and I thought the only way to mourn my father was to jump right into honoring his legacy and target the first criminal I saw. But, you're right, you, Oliver are not a criminal. The people you go after, they're criminals" Rory said.

"What changed your mind?" Oliver asked.

"Quentin," Rory said.

"Seriously?" Oliver asked.

"Yes, we have spent a lot of time together in the past few weeks and we have really had an impact on each other. Quentin is definitely not the same man he was the night he shot you" Rory said.

"So, Rory, what are you going to do now that you aren't trying to kill me?" Oliver said.

"Do what you are doing, making Starling City safer" Rory said.

"Really, not going back to Havenrock?" Oliver asked.

"I am better off here. Plus having Quentin in my life, makes me feel closer to the father I lost" Rory confessed. Oliver thought of Sara, the daughter Quentin lost. Maybe Rory being a part of his life would be good for him too.

"Well, if you are better off here, why don't you join me," Oliver asked.

"Like a sidekick?" Rory asked.

"A teammate" Oliver proposed.

Thea was walking along one of the back roads of The Glades, actually thinking that she was safe. She knew very well the dangers of walking around The Glades by herself in the middle of the night, but she really didn't think that anyone was around.

Like a speeding bullet, a man wearing a red hoodie ran past her and grabbed her purse from her hand. "Hey" Thea shouted and broke into a sprint after him. The man stopped in front of a wire fence that stood in his way. Thea stopped a foot behind him, afraid to get any closer. "Just put the purse on the ground and I won't press charges" Thea demanded.

The man turned around and looked at Thea. He had blue eyes and a young face. He was probably a year older than her. He was about to attempt escaping over the fence but Thea said: "Wait!" and was surprised when he actually did. "It's Christmas. Do you celebrate?" Thea asked.

"I used too" The man replied.

"Well, this is the first year that I have celebrated since my family took a five year break" Thea shared.

"Yeah, I heard that your brother came back from the dead, so, congratulations"

"Thank you..." Thea said.

"Roy"

"Roy" Thea repeated.

Roy held Thea's purse out to her. "Here, just- Merry Christmas" he mumbled.

"It will be especially merry if nothing bad happens to me on my way out of The Glades. Walk me home? I'll pay, with cash and Christmas Dinner" Thea offered.

Roy took a moment but then he nodded and held out his arm for her to grab onto.


	7. Chapter 7

Laurel and Barry entered Oliver's base, where he was training with Rory. "Rory, take a few," Oliver said. He walked over to Laurel.

"Cool, you brought Barry," he said, sarcastically.

Barry rolled his eyes. "You know my secret and now I know yours. But I'd already figured it out"

"So I assume mine is a secret you're going to keep," Oliver said.

"Calm down, Ollie" Laurel said. "Barry and I already spoke my dad and my dad already threatened Barry's job if he turns you in".

"Really?" Oliver said.

"Yup," Laurel said. "And you probably have Rory to thank". Rory gave Oliver and Laurel a nod of his head.

"So," Oliver said. "Welcome to my base, Barry"

"It's pretty cool," Barry said. Before Oliver or anybody else could stop him, Barry zipped around the base, touching and examining everything, and even trying his hand at the salmon ladder, before rejoining Laurel at her side. "Babe, that was fun, you should try it," he said.

"Please, why don't make yourself at home?" Oliver sneered.

"Why don't we get started with training?" Laurel suggested.

"Good idea," Oliver said. "You are pretty good with the hand to hand combat, but it's time to arm you up".

"With what?" Laurel asked, curiously.

Rory stepped forward. "Remember that Triad assassin who tried to kill you in your apartment?"

"I can't believe I am saying this, but can you be more specific?" Laurel asked.

"She looks like she is American," Rory said. "I briefly aligned myself with that woman. She has high power in the Triad, a skilled assassin, and master of weaponry".

"As are the other members of The Triad" Oliver added. "You could afford to be prepared" He tossed her a baton. "I am going to shoot a series of arrows at you and you aren't going to let them hit you".

"Are you crazy?" Barry shouted.

Oliver shook his head. "She's got this," he said and pulled back his bowstring. He shot three arrows towards and she successfully knocked all of them out of mid-air. Oliver smiled, approvingly. He shot six arrows and then three more simultaneously. Laurel knocked three of the arrows with the baton, ducked under two more, knocked another arrow down and while dodging the last three, she slipped.

"Ow" she yelled and Barry rushed to her side.

"Dude" Barry yelled, angrily.

Oliver came towards Laurel, concerned. Laurel opened her mouth and emitted a high-pitched cry, releasing visible soundwaves, enough to send Oliver off of his feet and crashing down.

He sat up and Laurel gasped. Oliver felt pain on his chest and figure when he landed, a wound reopened. He removed his shirt and the blood confirmed his suspicion "Laurel, I'm okay" he said. Laurel touched her throat. "Laurel" Oliver called.

Barry came towards Oliver. "I can fix that," he said. "Not a doctor, but I have some basic first aid training. Where's your first aid kit?"

Oliver pointed and Barry grabbed it. "Hey," Rory said. "I can take care of Oliver. You should go after your girlfriend"

"Do you have proper training?" Barry spat and Rory shook his head. "Didn't think so. Go after laurel if you want to".

Rory found Laurel upstairs behind the bar. "What are you doing?"

Laurel looked up. "Rory, go away. I hurt Oliver, I don't want to hurt you"

"You won't," Rory said.

"I can't control myself" Laurel argued.

"I'm not scared," Rory said. "You should come back. Quentin will be here soon. The whole team will figure this out together".

"My dad can't know about this" Laurel said.

"You'll feel better if you don't lie to him," Rory said

"First of all Rory, we're not a team," Laurel said. "Maybe you and Oliver have a partnership, but Barry and I are separate from that".

"You said you wanted to save the world together" Oliver reminded Laurel as he walked up to the bar. "See, Laurel" he smiled. "I'm fine".

"Oliver, I said that before I knew I was dangerous," Laurel said.

"You are not dangerous, and we'll help you," Oliver said. "I promise".

"You have made me a lot of promises you didn't keep," Laurel said and she walked towards the exit of the club.

"Laurel" Oliver called after her but she left anyway. "Damn it!" he shouted.

"You really love her, don't you?" Rory said.

"Why would you say that?" Oliver asked.

"Because even though you and I are just getting to know each other, whenever you are around her, I see the way you look at her. It's nothing like Barry looks at her. You're really in love" Rory said.

"Don't say Barry doesn't love Laurel" Oliver said.

"I don't know if he does and if so, to what extent. You though, there is no question" Rory said.

"Finally, somebody other than myself has picked up on it," said a new voice. Thea's voice.

"Hey," Oliver said, looking up. He expected to see Thea, but not holding the hand of a young man.

"Roy, this is my brother, Oliver Queen. Oliver, Roy Harper" Thea introduced.

"It is good to meet you, Oliver" Roy said, extending his hand to Oliver.

"Yeah, you too, Roy. How did you meet my little sister?"

"Met her Chrismas Eve," Roy said.

"He tried to steal my purse," Thea said.

"But I ended up walking her home," Roy said.

"So are you two..." Oliver's voice trailed off.

"You know, Ollie, we're just two adults... getting to know each other" Thea said.

"Well Speedy, good for you. I actually do have to get going-" he began.

"Wait," Thea said. "Introducing you to my boyfriend is not all I'm here for". She beckoned Roy over and he handed her a gym bag. "I've been working on something at Roy place". Out of the bag, Thea pulled a red vigilante suit, one fit for an archer.

"Thea," Oliver said, shaking his head. "Look, can we talk about this once I speak to Laurel?"

"Yeah, I guess. I just thought showing you the suit would show you that I want this, I didn't know how much until I met Roy" Thea said and that actually made Oliver smile.

Oliver walked toward the exit and ran into Quentin. "Hey," Quentin said.

"Hey, you missed Laurel, but Rory is still here," Oliver said and Quentin nodded.

"Where are you going?" Quentin asked.

"To find Laurel. She didn't leave here happy" Oliver said and he quickly read Quentin's facial expression. "It's best you leave me to handle it"

"Wait," Barry said, approaching Oliver. "Don't you think you could use my help in this situation?"

"You're right, Barry. Let's go" Oliver said.

Quentin walked back to see Rory. "Hey, Quentin," Rory said, giving the older man a hug.

"Hey, did you get Oliver and my daughter up to speed on the woman in white?" Quentin asked.

"I barely had time to" Rory informed.

"Where do you think Laurel went?" Barry asked while Oliver drove his car.

"CNRI" Oliver replied, flatly.

"Why? Why would she go to work?" Barry asked.

"Laurel thinks this new ability will cause her to hurt people when all she wants to is to do is help people. As long as I have known her, she has wanted nothing but to help other people. Her law firm is what gives her access to do that" Oliver explained.

"Wasn't the whole point of training with you to help people where her law degree couldn't?" Barry asked.

"Yes," Oliver said. "But what happened down there... that wasn't what anybody was prepared for. Especially not Laurel, given that it came out of her body. That's kind of traumatic, Barry".

"You would know trauma," Barry said and Oliver rolled his eyes. "What?" Barry said. "You would know trauma. I saw the scars on your body while stitching you up. I can't imagine how you deal with mental ones. You must have real steel in you".

"Well, from what Laurel tells me, so do you," Oliver said.

Barry raised his eyebrows. "What exactly has my girlfriend told you about me?" he asked as Oliver slowly pumped the brake and shifted the car into park.

"Laurel" Oliver gasped. Barry's attention was directed to Laurel's car, which had been abandoned. They were nowhere near CNRI.


	8. Chapter 8

Before Oliver's eyes, Barry sped around the car and when he stopped, he told Oliver that he had collected all the forensic evidence.

"Are you sure?" asked Oliver. "Moving at that speed, I wouldn't be surprised if you missed something".

"Nope. When I am moving at that speed, what I am seeing looks to me, how things look to you moving at normal speed" Barry said.

"Whatever" Oliver said. "Did you find anything useful?"

"If somebody took Laurel, they didn't leave a whole lot behind. I'm gonna search the city" Barry said.

"Wait, Ba-" Oliver began to say but Barry had already run off.

Oliver answered an incoming phone call. "Hello, Rory, what is it?"

"I really need to tell you something," Rory said.

Laurel woke up in the dark. At first, she couldn't remember anything, but she knew she was not in a safe place. Her hands were bound above her head, but she was unharmed.

She also could sense that she wasn't alone. "Hello," she said, quietly.

She heard a female voice curse in another language. "Hello" Laurel repeated.

"Be quiet" the voice demanded back.

"Who are you?" Laurel asked. She heard the sound of a gun cock. She got scared.

"People are going to be looking for me. Especially, my father, he is a cop" Laurel threatened. After a moment of silence, Laurel said: "Please, I don't want to die".

Another moment of silence. Now Laurel was just frustrated. "If you're gonna take your shot- j-just take it"

"Be quiet. Let me focus" the voice said back.

"Well, what're you waiting for" Laurel shouted with sudden bravery. "If you aren't going to kill me, then just let me go"

"I am going to kill you" the voice argued back.

"Then just do it," Laurel said, angrily.

There was a long moment of silence. "No" the voice finally said. "This isn't right. I can't".

"I know who you are," Laurel said.

"You do?" The voice asked, self-consciously.

"Yeah, you broke into my apartment and tried to kill me then. You are the woman in white. The American one" Laurel concluded.

Just then, light was cast upon the room as The Hood and Ragman entered. "White Canary, you have failed this city" The Hood boomed.

White Canary cursed before leaping into combat with both vigilantes.

"I should have known you would betray me, Ragman" White Canary spat, easily knocking Rory out.

She fought with Oliver, easily matching him. Laurel wanted to help, but she wasn't prepared. Oliver held White Canary in a headlock and motioned for Laurel to run.

Oliver applied pressure to his adversary's neck until he could feel her starting to lose consciousness. He slammed her up against the wall. "Who are you?" He yelled in her face.

To his shock, the assassin broke down in tears. "Ollie... Ollie, I'm sorry".

Oliver's anger increased. "Who are you?" He shouted again.

"Sara" she answered under her breath.

"Sara?" Oliver asked, taken aback. He felt tears starting to form in his own eyes. How could Sara be alive? No. This woman was lying. "Sara? Why? Why would you...?" Rory coughed. He was waking. "Go," Oliver said to Sara.

"Oliver" Sara protested.

"Go now" Oliver insisted.

Laurel was back in her apartment, wrapped in a blanket and Barry's arms.

"Are you sure that I can't get you anything, babe? I'll run anywhere" Barry offered.

"No, Barry. Just stay" Laurel replied. She didn't want to be alone.

"Do you want to talk about how you are feeling?" Barry asked.

"Uh-um" Laurel began.

"C'mon babe. I love you and I know it's been a shit day. Let me take care of you in any way that you need" Barry said.

"I feel scared on so many levels. More scared than I have ever been. Scared of the Triad and scared of myself. I don't want to die, but I don't want to live if I am not in control of myself" Laurel told Barry.

"Everything you just said is valid," Barry said. "When I got my powers, I was terrified. My whole life changed, nothing could be the same. But I met you and you led me to Oliver, The Hood, and I saw that he chose the life that it seems that the lightning chose for me. … Listen, I know you are reconsidering the choice that you made to train with Oliver. I am not going to stop you from pulling the plug —I'm not. But as your boyfriend and aspiring superhero, I am asking you to just think about it, because babe, you are a hero in every way a person can be. I just sensed that about you when I met you. And you have me and Oliver at your disposal. I don't mean to sound conceited, but Oliver and I, the Hood and the Streak, we are two of the best mentors a meta-human vigilante can have".

"The Streak?" Laurel questioned. If she knew her boyfriend at all, she knew he didn't come up with that name.

"That is what the newspapers are calling me, yeah" Barry admitted.

"I don't like it," Laurel said. "You should come up with your own name".

"Oh baby, I have a working list. When Dr. Wells mails me my suit, when I try it on, I'll know what the right name is" Barry said.

Oliver hung up the phone after talking to Laurel and Barry for a long time. He had to try very hard to withhold White Canary's identity from both of them, but Laurel in particular.

Oliver was back inside the Triad's base, which appeared empty. After a few minutes of learning the base, ten Triad members, including China White and White Canary entered the base. Oliver sprung right into action.

"Light him up" a member screamed in Chinese once The Hood's presence was noticed. Gunfire filled the small base.

Oliver was able to strip the gunmen of their weapons or break them. Sara was the first to engage Oliver in hand to hand combat. It was easier this time because Oliver knowing her identity was shaking her up.

Oliver killed three of the men against him, all while fighting Sara. "Sara", Oliver yelled. "You don't have to stay here. I- I can take you home. You can be with your family".

Sara punch Oliver in the face. "I don't have a family" she screamed.

Oliver got the better of Sara. He picked her up by the throat and slammed her into the ground. He turned around and killed two more men.

Sara had passed out and Oliver was against three more men and China White. Two men ran for their guns, but Oliver put arrows in them before they could retrieve them.

"You'll never stop us" China White warned. "You can't kill all of us".

"You want to bet," Oliver said. "Nevermind. You'll be too dead to pay me back".

Oliver kicked China White straight in the groin and jammed an arrow into her thigh. "Get up, you useless tools" she screamed in Chinese to her comrades.

"Nobody is going to help you. All your associates are terrified of me" Oliver said punching China White and knocking her out.

He called Quentin. "Hello" Quentin answered.

"Hey, it's me. I have some information, you should be the first to know. Also, tell the police to call The FBI, I found the Triad's base in Star City and I think the ones I left alive are afraid enough to talk".


	9. Chapter 9

Quentin couldn't stop his tears from falling. Now, that he was seeing her, the assassin who Rory had been talking about, he knew it was Sara the instant he saw her.

He was holding his unconscious daughter's hand. Oliver was standing nearby, hood down, but still in costume. Oliver cleared his throat. "Quentin, I hate to have to say this but you might not want to hold Sara's hand- just not right now. See, before I knocked her out, she told me she didn't have a family. Quentin, I don't how she will respond".

Quentin nodded and took a step back. "I'll trust you on that. I'm just grateful she is breathing. I should call Laurel".

"Are you sure?" Oliver asked. "Laurel has already had a hell of a night".

"Yeah, well, I'll at least call Dinah," Quentin said and left the room.

Sara suddenly woke only for Oliver to hold the end of an arrow to her neck. "Try to hurt me, and I'll kill you. Try to escape and I'll kill you".

"Where am I?" Sara demanded.

"You're somewhere safe," Oliver said. Oliver slowly lowered the arrow. "Your associates from The Triad are locked up. I suggest you start by telling me why you tried to kill your own sister".

"Because The Triad and Martin Somers had an agreement. Laurel had a solid case and was going to get his ass thrown in jail" Sara said.

"Yeah well, was it worth it, Sara? Cause Somers is in jail" Oliver said.

"I don't really give a fuck about Somers, Ollie" Sara said. "But The Triad-"

Oliver cut Sara off. "You are not about to tell me that you care about them".

"Not in the traditional way, no. Why do you give a fuck?" Sara asked.

"Because I care about you, Sara," Oliver said.

Sara took a moment to respond and Oliver saw conflict in her eyes. "Oliver, I appreciate you saying that, but I don't care about you, or Laurel or-"

"Sara!"

Sara saw Quentin enter the room and instantly choked up. She couldn't fight it. "Daddy".

Quentin slowly approached Sara and pulled his baby girl into his arms. "Sara. Sara!" Quentin cried, holding her and kissing her forehead. "My beautiful baby".

The following morning, Laurel answered her door when she saw Oliver. "Hey," she said.

"Hey, you alone here," Oliver asked.

"I woke up and Barry was gone," Laurel said. Oliver rolled his eyes but tried not to let Laurel see him do it.

Oliver smiled caringly at Laurel. "You look exhausted, Laurel. Did you sleep okay?"

"Oliver, if I'm perfectly honest. I haven't slept okay since the day your mom told me you and Sara went down with The Gambit" Laurel said.

Oliver frowned. "I think you should go back to bed," Oliver said. "Let me help you". Oliver led Laurel to her bed. "You wanna change?" he asked.

"No," Laurel said and climbed right back in her bed. Oliver smiled and pulled the covers over her.

"Try to get some more rest, okay?" Oliver said.

"Okay," Laurel said. She closed her eyes and Oliver thought he should leave. But something compelled him to stay. Protect her if something happened.

Some time had passed, Oliver wasn't sure how much. "Oliver" Laurel said. Before Oliver could respond, Laurel said: "I love you". Oliver knew Laurel was asleep.

"I love you", Oliver said. Oliver knew this could be the only time that he had to lessen the lies in his life and tell Laurel the truth. Telling Laurel he was The Hood and his family finding out actually made his homecoming and day to day life a lot easier, but there was still a lot that he was hiding from everybody. And it hit him at that moment that he didn't have what it would take to keep lying to Laurel.

He got up and lightly placed his hand on her shoulder. "Laurel" he whispered, gently rocking her.

'Ollie?" she questioned. "You're still here?"

"Yeah. I am. I- I didn't want to leave you alone" Oliver said.

"That means a lot to me," Laurel said.

Oliver smiled and then his face returned to normal remembering what he had to do.

"I had to see it, really see you to believe it," Laurel said. Quentin was there with Sara. They had both crashed there for the night. Laurel looked at Sara. How different she looked. The only thing that hadn't changed were her blue eyes. Sara slowly rose from the cot and Laurel moved behind Oliver. "Stay away from me, Sara. You tried to kill me".

"Laurel, I'm-"

Laurel cut Sara off. "and you" she directed at her father. "How could you not tell me the truth?"

"Baby, I wanted to tell you," Quentin said. "Oliver told me I should wait".

"Oliver told me the truth. Thank god one castaway here actually changed for the better" Laurel said heatedly before darting back up the stairs. Quentin went after her and Sara tried to as well. Oliver stopped her. "Let your dad go after Laurel. You and I have to talk".

A while later, Laurel had calmed down and allowed Quentin to take her for lunch. "Daddy, I am not mad that you didn't want to shut Sara out, and honestly I don't want to either. I mean what she and Ollie did, yeah, it still sucks, but clearly what she went through messed her up, enough to make an attempt on my life. I am more furious than I have ever been in my life, especially because I don't know if I can fully blame Sara".

"Sweetheart, I don't want you to think that I am not furious that sister tried to kill you... twice. I am, you and your sister are both my heart walking around outside my body. You are equal to me, baby. I am getting through to Sara, but I need you to do it. Part of what is holding Sara in her current state of mind is her guilt. It is easier for her to believe the girl that betrayed her sister is dead then confront the fact" Quentin explained. Laurel nodded. "With Queen? All is forgiven?".

"No," Laurel said. "But we're getting there. Ollie, since he's been home has been consistent. He has consistently apologized and consistently told me that he understands my anger and he has been there whenever I needed him. He is earning my forgiveness every day".

Sara was continuously trying to leave but Oliver had given her a low dose of a sedative to make her feel too dizzy to leave on her own. "I'm gonna give you a choice, Sara. You will either reform, and move home with your father, find a job and heal your family, or I will use my family's power and make sure that you are prosecuted and serve for your crimes".

"What about you and your crimes?" Sara asked.

"I am paying for my crimes and the crimes of my family by weeding out the corruption in Starling City," Oliver said. "The crimes that you have been committing are with the intent of harm... you were gonna kill Laurel".

"Because Laurel means nothing to me" Sara barked.

"That isn't true, Sara," Oliver said. "You care about your sister. You convinced yourself that if you were irredeemable, you wouldn't have to put in the work for redemption. I am not going to let you give up and Sara, if I have to I will do whatever it takes to make sure that you cannot hurt anyone else".


	10. Chapter 10

"Are you sure that I have to do this?" Sara asked Quentin.

"Yes, baby. You do" Quentin replied and Sara nodded.

"Okay," she said. Right before Sara was supposed to face the press, Laurel walked in. "Laurel?"

"Hey, good luck out there" Laurel wished her.

"You forgive me?" Sara asked.

"No, but you deserve the same chance that I am giving Oliver. So, let's work towards that. Your first step, go out there, apologize"

Sara walked out to face the swarm of reporters covering the breaking news of Sara Lance's return from the dead.

Oliver walked up and put his arm around Laurel. "Hey, you," he said.

She smiled and turned and kissed him.

"What the hell? What happened to Allen?" Quentin asked.

"I broke up with Barry," Laurel told Quentin.

"What, why? Allen was a good guy" Quentin said.

"An amazing guy" Laurel said "but I couldn't go on denying that I'm still in love with Oliver. So in love, dad. And I am lucky that I can have this second chance with him, this clean slate, do-over".

"Yeah, Quentin, and I can assure you I needed that time, away... or as Thea put it... dead, in order for me to realize how lucky I had been. I am truly sorry that I made such a terrible mistake, but I am never going to hurt Laurel again. If I do, shoot me, I know you can" Oliver said.

Quentin was silent for a moment then he said: "Laurel, you are a very, very smart young woman and I fully trust you. And if you trust yourself on this than Queen, you have my blessing with her, but how did Allen take it..." Quentin lowered his voice. "Is he still on the team?"

"He took it surprisingly well. He told me he loves me, but he knows he can't compete with Oliver. He also said that this will make it easier to have a friendship with Oliver. Barry is the jealous type, but so is Ollie and probably more so" Laurel explained.

Meanwhile, Sara was making her speech. "I have just this morning been legally resurrected, but on a more important note, I must make a confession and come clean with the people of Starling city" Sara took a deep breath. "Many already know members of The Chinese Triad were arrested over the weekend here in the city. What they don't know is that for the five years I have been a member of the Chinese triad. The Triad saved my life when I washed up the coast of Hong Kong. I was sick and weak, near-death and they saved me and trained me. I am not condoning what I did while I was a member. It was wrong, criminal. And I am sorry. It's not how I was raised. To make this up to the people of Starling City, I will be dedicating the rest of my life to community service. I'm not sure that I will be able to make up for what I've done, but I vow to you all, I will spend the rest of my life trying. I love Starling City, I grew up here, it's my home. I've wronged it and I have wronged the people in it. But redemption is stronger than hate" Sara said.

"I'm really proud of her," Laurel said.

"Yeah, I am too. Even if she doesn't mean it, she will" Oliver said.

"Speaking of which, did Barry pick up Sara's suit?" Quentin asked.

Barry entered Star Labs. He was picking up Sara's new suit, a modified version of the suit she wore while serving the Triad, which was all white, featured a long cloak and a face mask that covered her mouth and nose.

Barry was surprised to see that Sara's suit was the same as it was when he delivered it.

"Uh Cisco, you didn't change the suit at all," Barry said.

"Yeah, I know," Cisco said.

"Why not?"

"Because that suit is perfection and I was busy making someone else's suit," Cisco said. "Viola"

"Is that for Laurel?" Barry asked, annoyed. "I told you Laurel changed her mind about being on the Team"

"Well maybe this will change her mind back," Cisco said.

"Maybe, its a... nice suit" Barry huffed.

"You want to talk about anything... you and Laurel... fighting or something?" Cisco asked.

"Laurel broke up with me" Barry admitted.

"I'm sorry, man. What happened?" Cisco said.

"It's for the best. She loves Oliver" Barry said.

"That's what you were worried about," Cisco said sympathetically.

"It's okay, actually. I'm okay. I want her to be happy" Barry said and Cisco nodded.

Sara, Quentin, Rory, and Oliver were gathered in the Foundry when Barry ran in. "Where's Laurel?"

"I don't know, probably at work" Oliver answered. Barry handed Oliver the package that contained Laurel's suit.

"What's this?" Oliver asked.

"Give it to her," Barry said and gave the other package to Sara.

Sara went to change and came back wearing her suit without the mask. "He didn't change my suit".

"Yeah," Barry said. "Cisco said he couldn't think of a way to improve your suit. He thinks it's perfect".

"Almost perfect" a voice said and everybody saw Laurel. She tossed Sara a blonde wig.

"Hey, a blonde wig?" Sara asked.

"Yeah, you can use it until you figure out what you wanna do with your hair," Laurel said.

"Thank you, Laurel. Genuinely" Sara said.

Laurel walked over to Oliver and hugged him. "Hey," Oliver said. "I'm glad you're here. It means you are actually taking a break".

"I guess I don't feel the need to work as hard knowing Starling City has a team of Guardian Angels" Laurel said and pecked her boyfriend on the lips.

"Speaking of which," Oliver said, "We should talk about the next name on the list. Scott Morgan. He's been cutting off power to the poor".

"Why?" Rory asked.

"Morgan hikes up the prices for utilities well out of his customers' price range and when they can't pay he shuts it off. Electricity, Water, Heat. Rain or Shine. Summer or Winter" Oliver explained.

"I can imagine how tough that is," Barry said.

"Especially during the wintertime... which is only months away," Oliver said.

"Let's go get this son of a bitch," Thea said as she walked in, dressed in her vigilante suit.

Oliver tilted his head back and rolled his eyes. "You're not going anywhere, Speedy"

Thea was about to protest but Sara cut her off. "Ollie is right. You aren't going anywhere. You aren't trained"

Thea rolled her eyes. "Roy's been training me" She nocked an arrow into her bow and shot it at the wall.

Oliver could admit that she had been taught correctly, form-wise, technique-wise, but that didn't mean that she was ready to fight criminals. "No, Speedy".

"I'll stay back and I will work with you, Thea" Sara offered before Oliver could say anything else. Thea's face lit up.

"Sara" Oliver hissed.

"I am repaying my debt to society, Ollie" Sara argued. "I can't think of a better way to do that than to train somebody who wants to contribute to saving our city. Can you?"

Oliver paused for a moment and then he said. "Rory, Barry, suit up".

When the guys left, Sara looked at Laurel. "I hope you'll stay, too. Ollie told me you had an interest in the mission as well".

"That- that was before- that was before. You know what, I don't feel well" Laurel stammered.

"Well, here, let me help you lay down" Sara offered.

The Hood was riding his motorcycle on the way to Scott Morgan's building. He had commlinks to The Flash, Ragman and of course the Detective who was at command central.

"Hey, w-w-wait, stop," Barry said.

"What?" shouted Oliver, slamming the break. Rory and Barry caught up to him.

"Bank robbery in progress," Barry said.

"So?" Oliver asked.

"So?" Rory said. "So we're heroes. This is the kind of thing we exist for"

"I'm not a hero," Oliver said. "That is not why I do this".

"Then why do it at all?" Barry asked.

"I do this because it is the reason that I survived. My one goal. Save the city. And I do that with my father's list".

"Look, man, I get it," Barry said. "Wanting to honor a fallen parent. Rory and I get that too, but there is more than one way to do it. There is more than one way to save Starling city".


	11. Chapter 11

Laurel was standing in front of her mirror, following Sara's instructions to treat the large cut on her forehead. She heard a light knock on her door and let Oliver in after checking the peephole.

"I took a 50/50 shot on whether or not you would be awake," He said with a smile. Oliver looked at the cut on her head with concern. "What the hell?"

"Oh, courtesy of my little sister," Laurel said, rolling her eyes. "I told her I didn't have an interest in joining her and Thea's training session, but you know how Sara always had this way of roping me into things. Well, I joined and I regret it. I mean, I have work tomorrow, what do I tell them?"

Oliver put on a thoughtful face and then he said: "You walked...into a door".

"I'm serious, Oliver" Laurel said, trying to stifle a laugh.

"We'll think of something," Oliver said. "But hey, baby, maybe you should reconsider joining the team. That power, whatever it is, can make you a heavy hitter".

"Oliver, I meant what I said. I want to help the city, but I can't. Not with this- this cry. It's uncontrolled and it can do serious damage" Laurel said.

"I can teach you control, Laurel," Oliver said.

"The last time you tried to teach me, it activated my cry" Laurel complained.

"Babe, it's not about how many times you get knocked on the mat, it's about how many times you get back up" Oliver walked forward and leaned his forehead against hers. "I believe in you".

Laurel stayed there, leaning in for a few moments and then finally said: "Alright. On my own terms, I'll train with Sara and I will go on the field when I feel ready, but, Oliver, I have one more condition".

"Anything you want," Oliver said.

"Speedy. Give Speedy a real chance. I watched her today and she has been working hard. I can tell. And I am seein-" Oliver cut Laurel off.

"Okay," Oliver said.

"Just like that?" Laurel asked.

"Yes, just like that. You and Thea are the two most important people to me and if I am encouraging you than she deserves that" Oliver said. Laurel leaned in and kissed Oliver. After they pulled away, Oliver said: "Hey, there's something I want to show you"

Laurel looked at herself in the mirror. "I love it," she said.

"I do too. Cisco did a great job" Oliver said.

"Speaking of Cisco, how were things on the field tonight. I haven't heard about Morgan being turned into the SCDP" Laurel said.

"That's because Barry, Rory and I were elsewhere. We ended up thwarting a bank robbery" Oliver shared.

"Really?" Laurel said and Oliver nodded.

"The Royal Flush Gang," Oliver said.

"Wait, they are the bank robber's who put Stan Washington in the hospital," Laurel said.

"Yeah, they are" Oliver acknowledged.

"Did you stop them?" Laurel asked.

"We came close," Oliver said. "We are going to stop them. But first I want to figure out who they really are"

"Not that I mind you guys going after the Royal Flush Gang, but they don't fit in with The Hood's typical targets" Laurel pointed out.

"Yeah, well, Barry and Rory are good men," Oliver said.

Barry was in his lab at the SCPD when Quentin walked in. "Allen, how you doing?"

"I'm alright, Sargent. Looks like I might be able to take my break early today" Barry said.

"I heard from Laurel about The Flash, Ragman, and The Hood stopping an armed robbery last night. The force owes you for that. I'm granting you access to the database and the evidence lockers. Hopefully what we have can help ID the sons of bitches".

"I'll tell Oliver," Barry said as he nodded gratefully.

That night, Oliver, Barry, and Quentin sat at a computer in the SCPD. Quentin had taken the liberty of turning off the cameras. Barry pulled a few stills that a bank security camera caught during a previous robbery. "Anything you see here that can give these goons identities?"

Oliver leaned in. "Not really, zoom in a little bit... okay, good. Look, is that a class ring?"

"Yeah, yeah it looks like it".

"Okay," Oliver said and he uploaded the stills to a USB. "I'll go back to the foundry and try to ID the gang off the ring"

White Canary was hiding in Scott Morgan's building. With her was Thea, in her vigilante suit, no codename yet, so Sara just decided to stick with Speedy. "Are you sure that I am ready?"

"I never said you were ready," Sara said. "Your purpose here is to make Morgan think you are The Hood. Distract so I can attack".

"Got it," Thea said and once Sara gave the cue, she emerged from her hiding spot.

Scott Morgan's attention was caught when Thea made a small grunt, trying to sound masculine. "I should have known-" Scott was cut off by the feeling of a knife against his throat. "I'm sorry" He immediately shouted in fear. "I- I'll lower my prices- hell- I'll provide free power to The Glades... just leave me alone"

"Good," A muffled female voice said. "I will make sure that happens... keep your word or there will be consequences".

"Are- are you with the vigilante?" Morgan huffed.

An arrow hit the wall, shyly missing Morgan, and released a thick cloud of smoke allowing Sara and Thea a get-away.

Later on, Laurel was spending the night alone, when there was a knock on her door. She went to answer it, it could be Oliver. She looked through the peephole to see that it was none other then Dinah Lance, Laurel's mother. Laurel pulled her door open and stared at her mother with a blank face. "What?"

"Laurel, 5 years, and all that you have to say is what?" Dinah said. "Don't you want to-"

"Ask you to leave? Yeah, I do" Laurel said, angrily.

"Laurel, I-"

"I am really not interested in hearing any excuse or even an apology. It's way too late" Laurel spat. "Ya know what hurts the most, it isn't that you didn't try to stop Sara from screwing Oliver, or didn't tell me. It isn't even that you left me on my own with Dad, left me to fend for myself and him, but what hurts the most, I know the only that you are here now- is because of Sara".

"Laurel, c'mon, sweetie. I love you, I love you both. But you have understand. Your sister, she was dead, for five years" Dinah pleaded.

"I might as well have been, mom. You didn't text or call, or visit. 5 birthdays, 5 Christmas's, 5 mother's days. You could've come back then. When you still had a daughter" Laurel said.

"Laurel" Dinah tried to say.

"Look me in the eyes, and tell me you would be here right now. Tell me, you would be here if Sara were still dead, or still missing". Dinah stared at Laurel for a minute but wasn't able to look her daughter in the eyes.

Laurel shook her head. "Mom, you should go be with Sara. Don't waste your time trying mend fences. Because of everyone who has hurt me, the wounds you've inflicted are still wide open and bleeding". That was the last thing Laurel said to her before walking into her apartment and closing the door. She sat down against it and began to cry as quietly as she could manage in case her mother was still in earshot.


	12. Chapter 12

Laurel pulled open the door and saw Tommy holding a pizza box from Mario's. As soon as he put it down on the table, Laurel hugged him tightly. "Hey," she said when she pulled away from him.

"Hey, I knew your mom is in town. I thought she might have stopped by and if she did, I thought you would need some comfort food" Tommy said.

"Thanks, Tommy. You were right" Laurel said and she took her first slice.

"Where's Ollie?" Tommy asked.

"He is tied up right now, a lot going on," Laurel said and Tommy nodded.

"Well, I wonder what because I haven't seen much of him lately," Tommy said. "He hasn't been doing too much for the club recently".

"Well, Thea's birthday is coming up and Oliver is collaborating with Thea's boyfriend on how to celebrate," Laurel said, only in partial honesty. She knew that at this very moment Oliver and Barry were head to head with the Royal Flush Gang.

"Well, I suppose that is more important than being there to comfort his girlfriend when she needs him the most" Tommy uttered sarcastically.

"Tommy, c'mon, I'm a big girl, and Ollie can't be there for me every second" Laurel said. "Though I do appreciate you caring".

"Laurel, you are my best friend," Tommy said.

"You aren't still resentful about me choosing to go out with Barry after you... and I- had a few lapses," Laurel asked.

Tommy shook his head. "I think it was a healthy decision. You needed a break from the bad boys. Don't get me wrong I am really happy for both you and Ollie, but if he hurts you again so help me god- I'll make him wish he stayed on that island".

"I appreciate that sentiment. If it makes you feel any better, Ollie is really good to me now. And he is coming over as soon as he finishes up".

Derek and Kyle Reston, dressed as their alias's King and Ace, both had their machine pointed at a security guard that was only armed with a taser. "Please, don't do this, I haven't seen your faces, I won't call the cops" The security guard begged.

Before another word could be exchanged, a red blur whizzed by the robbers, stripping them of their weapons and giving the security guard time to run.

The Hood stood face to face with the Royal Flush Gang. "Derek and Kyle Reston, you have failed this city," he said angrily.

"This time we came prepared" Ace replied and he picked a large shield he had stashed handed it to Derek. "I'll handle the fast guy" he assured his father.

Oliver knew his arrows couldn't penetrate King's shield, but he also knew Derek Reston was decades older than him. Instead of using his bow, Oliver focused on just an arrow. He pulled a sharpened arrow from his quiver and stabbed Mr. Reston in the shoulder.

"Ahhh son of bitch" shouted Reston and dropped his shield. Oliver used his arm to choke Derek only to render him unconscious. He looked over at Barry and saw that Barry had managed to knock Ace out cold as well.

Police lights fell over the bank, so Barry grabbed Oliver and sped back to the Foundry with him. When they got there, Thea had shown up like Oliver had asked her too. Quentin looked up from the computers. "Good work out there, tonight. My colleagues have the entire Royal Flush Gang back at the station. And, Oliver, though I am sure it had something to do with Allen's presence... no one died".

"So... that's a compliment," Oliver said.

"I guess it is," Quentin said.

"Okay, now where is Rory? When you are here, he usually is too" Oliver said.

"Rory insisted on going out on his own to investigate Ted Gaynor," Quentin said and saw Oliver's face begin to get red. "Don't worry. I've got him"

Oliver shook his head. "No, I've got him" Oliver picked up his gear and started to walk out.

"Hey, Oliver" Barry called after him. He followed Oliver upstairs. "Oliver, stop".

"I don't have time to stop, Barry. Not all of us have super speed" Oliver growled.

"Look, if you really think that Rory can't hold his own, I'll go after him, but c'mon, he's been training with those rags his entire life, he's got this" Barry encouraged. "If you're willing to let Laurel, in fact, encouraging Laurel to join this fight, you owe that encouragement to every member of this team," Barry said.

Oliver rolled his eyes. "There is a difference, Barry. I will always have Laurel's back. Rory's out there alone right now".

"He will be fine, Oliver. And trusting him is another way of having his back. Speaking of Laurel, she needs you. She's been going through it lately" Barry said.

Oliver was silent for a moment but he knew Barry was right. He looked at Barry and said: "Just join the comm link with Quentin and if Rory needs you-"

"-have his back" Barry finished the sentence.

Oliver nodded. "Could send Thea up for a minute?"

Thea came up and walked over to her big brother. "Why do I get the sense that you called me here to tell me that I wasn't ready to pursue Scott Morgan".

"You aren't," Oliver said and Thea rolled her eyes. "But the important thing is the outcome, you are safe and Scott Morgan is offering a more than reasonable discount on utilities to The Glades".

"Fine" Thea said. "But you realize that I am treating Sara as my primary trainer, right. No offense, Ollie, but she believes in me".

"I believe in you too, Speedy but it's okay. It's better actually. I focus on training Laurel, and Sara trains you. That way neither of us will have a blind spot" Oliver said.

"Laurel is your girlfriend" Thea laughed.

"Okay, so a small blind spot but at least with Sara training you, we will both have a single focus. Splitting my focus between the most important people in the world to me while still focusing on the mission is more than even I can handle" Oliver reluctantly admitted.

When Laurel opened her door, Oliver quickly stepped inside. After she closed it, Oliver said: "Baby, I am sorry, I should've been here a lot sooner".

"You're here now," Laurel said and she hugged him. He hugged her back, protectively, and kissed her temple.

"Ollie, I- am I doing the right thing... with- with my mother?" Laurel asked her boyfriend.

"Honestly, babe, I don't know. But I do see this two different ways... for me, with my father... I would do just about anything I could to reconnect with him if that were possible, so part of me wants to advise you not to wait with your mother, but my dad and I have a different story, a different relationship then you and your mom. Laurel, If you choose to re-establish a connection with your mother, just like training with your powers, it has to be done on your terms, only if and when you are ready" Oliver said and Laurel's lips immediately met his. When they pulled away, they were both smiling at each other.

"You're the best" Laurel said. She took his hand and led him to the kitchen.

Rory shook the hand of Ted Gaynor. "I am honored and humbled by this opportunity. Thank you so much, Mr. Gaynor"

"Well, kid. You are a perfect fit. But it isn't gonna be easy. Now, why don't head out to the common area and meet the other recently employed agents" When Rory entered the common area, he headed straight for a familiar face. He cleared his throat. "John Diggle. Name is Rory Reagan. I'm the newest hire. You used to work for Oliver Queen."

"Yeah, how do you know that?" Diggle asked.

"I know everything about Oliver Queen. Spent months trying to kill him- well The Hood" Rory said.

John's eyes widened. "Am I being punked?" he asked.

"No, no. I work with The Hood now. Ragman" Rory said.

"Ragman" John repeated. "You and The Flash stopped a bank robbery"

"Actually, me, The Flash, and Oliver" Rory said.

"Stopping a bank robbery? That's real hero stuff, not exactly The Hood's brand if I am correct" Diggle scoffed.

"I used blindly hate The Hood too, but I was wrong about him and I know you're wrong about him," Rory said.

"He's crazy" Diggle insisted.

"Okay so you know the identity of a psychopath who the police have wanted for months, why have you not turned him in?" Rory asked.

Dig changed the subject. "So private security... why'd you choose this career?"

"To help people, that is all I ever wanted to do" Rory answered.

"The Ragman persona isn't enough?" Dig asked.

"It is, but you don't make any money for it," Rory said.

"I knew it had to be the money" Diggle smirked. "Private security is not the career lane I would turn down with the helping people goal".

"Well, I am helping people by taking this job. Ted Gaynor, his name is on Oliver's list"

Sara did not look happy with Dinah when she showed up back at Quentin's apartment. She pulled the door open frowning at her mother. "You went to see Laurel".

"Sara, yes. I had too. She's my baby. She's my baby, too" Dinah defended.

"Yeah, well you can't abandon her when she needed you the most and expect her to welcome you back into her life. You hurt her, mom" Sara said.

"I know, I just thought that you and your father said things were getting better with the two of you and I..." Dinah said.

"Things are... slowly. As bad as what Ollie and did to Laurel was, you left her, mom. And I can even accept the blame for tearing our family apart. I should and I am so sorry. And I am working every day to make things right... you, mom, you haven't done a single thing to prove you even care about Laurel" Sara ridiculed.

Dinah nodded, a tear slipping down her face. "Sara, you know I never wanted this. I never meant to make Laurel feel like she didn't matter to me. I begged you not to betray your sister" Dinah said.

"I know, Mom, and in the end, you could not have stopped me from getting on that boat. But there was a whole lot more you could've done. The least of that being there for her when she found out what happened. I know you were hurting, but Laurel's pain was so much worse" Sara said. She then pulled Dinah into a hug. "I love you, and honestly I know that Laurel still does, but when it comes to your relationship with her, she is still where she was 5 years ago, sobbing as you left her. Laurel has a huge heart. I think she will be open to repairing your relationship but it is going take time, some gestures, and a open and honest dialogue"

"Are you sure?" Dinah asked.

"No, but I am pretty sure she will. Go home, mom. Next time, you want to reach out to Laurel, start with a phone call, and pour your heart out. Tell her how sorry you are. Tell her how much you love her and be willing to do whatever it takes" Sara said before grabbing her keys to drive her mother to the train station.


	13. Chapter 13

Oliver threw his bow down on a table in the foundry. "Oliver, what's wrong?" Quentin asked.

Oliver ignored him and walked straight up to Rory. "When I went after Gaynor tonight, John Diggle got in my way. I could've killed him".

"And why is this Rory's fault?" Quentin asked.

"Because he is a Blackhawk and he works with Dig. If Rory didn't tell him I was going after Ted Gaynor, he wouldn't have known" Oliver said.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think John would try to stop you. I told him that you were after Gaynor to try and prove that you were actually a good person to John" Rory said. Oliver stared back at Rory angrily. "I think I have something that will make you feel better"

"What is it?" Oliver asked.

Rory held up a laptop. "I was able to transfer the content from Ted Gaynor's laptop onto this one".

Oliver took the laptop. "So if Gaynor is up to something, it's on here".

"Yeah, except Rory and I looked at the computer already, and there is encryption on there that my guys in the I.T. Department haven't even seen before," Quentin said. "Maybe somebody at Queen Consolidated?".

"Or Roy," Thea said causing everybody in the foundry to look at her. "Well, he knows somebody... in The Glades, her name is Sin. She could crack that encryption".

"You sure?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah, I am," Thea said. Oliver handed Thea the laptop.

Oliver then looked at Rory. "Hey- I- should say that I am sorry. But I should also say that I am not out to prove anything to John. If he doesn't believe in what I am doing, that's fine".

"Well, I appreciate the apology. I'm still going to talk to John though. I don't know why he tried to get in your way".

"One big belly Veggie Burger, One Big Belly Burger with caramelized onions and mushrooms, one large order of fries, one black and white milkshake and one ice water," said the waitress as she put down Sara and Laurel's order.

"I'm surprised you ordered the veggie burger. You used the love the beef burgers" Laurel said.

"I went vegan when I joined The Triad" Sara replied. "I couldn't imagine eating beef anymore. How's your burger?"

"It's really good. I'm surprised The Triad would want you to go vegan. I thought they would want their warriors eating lots of protein" Laurel remarked.

"More like drinking," Sara said and Laurel cocked her head to one side. "Chien Na Wei... you may know her as the other woman that broke into your apartment and tried to kill you. Yeah, she introduced me to a vegan diet and for protein, this special drink with ingredients that I hadn't even heard of before".

Laurel nodded. "So, about the triad, Sara-" Laurel began.

"Laurel, you can trust me" Sara insisted.

"I do... Sara, I do trust you" Laurel said, causing her sister to just stare back at her, at a loss for words. "I wanted to tell you that what-what you said to mom meant a lot to me".

"You know about that?" Sara asked.

"Mom told me, on the phone. She said that as her first act of trying to repair our relationship, she wanted to do what was possible on her end to repair my relationship with you. Sara, I know you are really sorry" Laurel said.

Sara's eyes welled up with tears. "I am".

"I know that I can trust you, what you said to mom proved that to me," Laurel said with a smile.

"I am always going be sorry," Sara said.

"Yeah, and I am always going to be hurt, Sara, by you and Ollie, but I forgive both and I love you both anyway".

"I love you too. Always and forever" Sara said. Collecting herself, Sara then asked: "What were you going to say about The Triad?"

"Nothing," Laurel said.

"Are you sure?" Sara asked.

"I guess I was wondering if any members of The Triad have reached out?" Laurel asked.

"To try to lure me back to China? No, The Triad is more likely to send somebody to try to kill me then reinstate me. The Triad doesn't give second chances" Sara explained.

"Should I be worried about you?" Laurel asked.

"No, likely if they want me dead, they will send Chien Na Wie. I can take her".

"I thought she was detained," Laurel said.

"Yeah, that is exactly what the SCPD wants you to think. There is not a chance Chien Na Wie is behind bars"

The next morning Laurel was sitting at her desk working while Oliver was in the kitchen, having a cup of coffee with Roy. They were discussing Thea's upcoming birthday plans. "I've been talking Thea into a low-key day trip and I was thinking it would be perfect if I lead her to a surprise party at night".

"Sure" Oliver agreed. "She would love that. I'll find a venue, I'll get help from Tommy and my mother, all you have to do is keep Thea busy".

"You seem really enthusiastic about giving Thea her dream birthday," Roy said.

"That is because I am, Roy. Thea deserves it. She has been through a lot" Oliver said.

"Well, you know, when I first met Thea, I didn't think I would say this but, I feel very happy and lucky to be a part of her life," Roy said.

"Good, you should feel that way. I've been wanting talk to you about her for a while" Oliver said.

"Why. Did I do something wrong?" Roy asked.

"No, not wrong. You have an archery background? You've been teaching her?" Oliver asked.

"Learned archery from my old man and hand to hand combat from experience in The Glades. I started teaching Thea self-defense after she was nearly robbed leaving my place".

"I meant to thank you for that" Oliver said.

"Really?" asked Roy.

"Yeah, really. If the enemies I make in this city were to ever find out who I am, it is nice to know that my sister will be able to defend herself because she is right, I won't always be there to protect her" Oliver said and he shook Roy's hand.

"Does this mean that you are willing to let Thea be a member of your team?" Roy asked.

"Thea wants to make the city a better place. I see that and I am really proud of her. Don't tell her but I am officially inviting her to this "team" as others are calling it on her birthday" Oliver said.

After kissing Laurel goodbye and checking up on the situation with Blackhawks, Oliver went to pick his mother up for lunch. He made eye contact with her and waved from his motorcycle. Moira barely had time to react, when three shots were fired as the gunman rode by on another motorcycle. Two shots killed the man Moira had been chatting with and one narrowly missed Moira. Oliver jumped off his bike and ran to his mother.

"Mom" he shouted. Moira was lying on the ground.

"Oliver. I'm alright" Moira said.

"Somebody call the paramedics" Oliver shouted and ran back to his bike. He was going to chase down the shooter and make them wish that it was The Hood instead of Oliver Queen.

Oliver pushed down hard on the accelerant, the only thing on his mind was catching up to the other motorist. Luckily for him, the roads were rather clear, not that he intended to let traffic slow him down. It didn't take long for him to begin to close in on the other motorist. Up ahead, a car was pulling off of a side road and Oliver knew it would slow him down. Oliver stopped his bike and broke into a sprint, and he used the hood of the car as a vault, getting himself close enough to the other motorcyle to charge the motorist and take them down.

The other motorist's bike spun out and hit a dumpster. They struggled as Oliver held them down. He used a trick he was taught by Yao Fei to render them unconscious and then he pulled up the face sheild on their helmet.


End file.
